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Friday, 19 February 2016

"2,200 corrupt govt officials identified in 2015" CBI-- including two from DoP (?)

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday claimed to have identified 2,200 corrupt senior government officials in 2015 and initiated enquiries against them. The agency said there was a 94% jump in crackdown against corruption in the country from 2014.

CBI director Anil Sinha said the agency had identified 2,200 corrupt senior officials and begun investigations against them. The anti-graft agency has registered 101 FIRs against these persons till now. "People expect the CBI to act against corruption and we are doing just that. Our focus is on conducting fair investigations and completing pending investigations," Sinha said.

The CBI registered 101 graft related FIRs in 2015 after receiving complaints about officials demanding bribe to grant favours. The corresponding figure was 52 in 2014.

Talking about the agency's performance, Sinha, who has completed 14 months as chief, said the CBI managed to file 1,044 chargesheets in 2015 which was the highest by the agency during the last five years. Among those charged are Naveen Jindal, A Raja, Virbhadra Singh and other political functionaries.

"Mood of the public is against corruption. If the CBI will not side with them, who will?" Sinha asked, adding that the agency had registered cases against 67 officials for amassing disproportionate assets which was an increase of 56% compared to 2014.

On the international front, the CBI claimed to have completed 62 international operations (cases where one part is investigated outside) with 42 fugitives being brought back to face the law in the country which is an increase of 91% from 2014 when only 22 such absconders were deported or extradited. In 2015, the agency issued 81 letter rogatories for overseas investigations as well.

When asked about constraints faced by the agency, Sinha said shortage of staff was a major concern as states were not ready to relieve officers for central deputation. "At the cutting edge levels, which is DIG, SP, DSP, the staff crunch is at critical levels. Earlier, one official used to handle one case, now they are solving three or four cases at a time which is putting pressure on them," he said.

Between 2009 and 2012, the CBI registered 2,246 cases under different sections of Prevention of Corruption Act.